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About SCS

The Society for Classical Studies (SCS), founded as the American Philological Association in 1869 by "professors, friends, and patrons of linguistic science," is the principal learned society in North America for the study of ancient Greek and Roman languages, literatures, and civilizations. While the majority of its members are university and college Classics teachers, members also include scholars in other disciplines, primary and secondary school teachers, and interested lay people. For over a century this community has relied on the Association to produce several series of scholarly books and texts; the journal, TAPA; and an annual meeting each January in conjunction with the Archaeological Institute of America.

The Society fosters programs to:

Reassert the importance of primary and secondary school teaching and provide more support for improved pedagogy at all levels of teaching.

Improve working conditions and scholarly opportunities for university and college teachers.

Increase communication with audiences beyond its membership.

Meet the scholarly the needs of the profession.

Coordinate and systematize data collection in order to provide an accessible and reliable information base to support Association goals.

The SCS provides a wide range of services to its members through its five major divisions:

1. The Communications and Outreach Division prepares materials of interest to an audience beyond the SCS's core membership in order to promote a wider public understanding and appreciation of Classics. Its best known project, the well-received publication Amphora, presents high-quality scholarship in a form accessible to a very broad audience. The Division's Communications Committee has developed the SCS Blog. New blog articles are published each week on the front page of the website.

2. The Education Division coordinates activities concerned with the teaching of classical studies in the K-12 and higher education sectors.

The Society now has a sixth division, the Resources Division, which will coordinate and oversee the financial resources needed to operate the Society and run its programs. The new Resources Division comprises the Finance Committee, the Strategic Development Committee, the Annual Fund Committee, and the Membership Committee.

A dedicated group of elected officers and directors as well as the volunteers who staff over 30 committees (some elected, some appointed) oversee programs that reflect the needs of the entire field and that have been improved through careful peer review. In recent decades the Society has made changes in its governance and its programs to ensure that the field is open to scholars of all backgrounds and disciplinary approaches. Click here for detailed information on SCS's governance.

These are exciting times for Classics and the SCS. The Society raised over $3 million during a Campaign for Classics in the 21st Century that was supported by a challenge grant of $650,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Society is already using Income from funds raised during this Campaign to develop the next generation of educational and research resources and to involve a wider public in the work of classics scholars.